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dc42
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Andrew, you are complaining about the paradigm and not "thinking outside the box", but the only alternative one you have suggested is a Linux box plus an 8-bit microcontroller. I have pointed out that the 8-bit microcontroller you suggested actually costs more than twice the price of the ARM processor I propose to use.
Actually you have to take into account the total cost of the boards, not the cost of the MCUs themselves, because nobody buys a surface mount AVR or ARM chip to use as such, we all buy boards with these and various other components already soldered (well, the vast majority of us do). So comparing the cost per unit of any two MCUs bought in 10k quantities is really irrelevant to any discussion about controllers here in this forum. It makes no difference if the 8-bit MCU costs $2.20 and the ARM MCU costs $1.30 or so, if at the end of the day the ARM board ends up costing $120 and the AVR board costs $20.
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dc42
IMO this solution is also too complex for most 3D printer users, even though I can see it may appeal to computer geeks, RPi owners and the like, and might even save money if you have more than one printer and use the same Linux box to control them all.
Actually adding an OctoGoatBox (basically a 150mmx100mmx25mm Linux appliance with a single LED and a few connectors) to any 3D printer makes it much easier to use and much more practical too. And there is nothing extremely complex about setting up an OctoGoatBox, it only requires setting up an ESSID and password in a text file, so that it can connect securely to a WiFi network. I don't think that even remotely qualifies as "geek-only".
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dc42
A Duet won't cost you $120 + shipping, it will cost you $100 + shipping + any import tax you are liable for. Go to the Think3DPrint3D web site, look up the Duet and observe that it costs £78 including VAT. Customers outside the EU are not liable for VAT, so if you are in the USA then the price to you would be GBP65, which equates to USD100 at today's exchange rates.
I live in Spain so I'll pay £78 ($120 at current exchange rates) + shipping ($16) = $136.
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dc42
The AZSMZ Mini already shows that it is possible to make a budget 32-bit board, because it sells for $60 + shipping. If it becomes popular and gets cloned, then I am sure the price will come down. The board I propose will have a lower parts cost than the AZSMZ Mini.
I take your point about most users being likely to prefer WiFi to wired Ethernet. It's actually very easy and inexpensive to convert a wired Ethernet port to wifi, using a device such as [www.ebay.co.uk]. But you've got me thinking about the possibility of a WiFi daughterboard.
A network bridge or an add-on WiFi daughterboard are both likely to cost almost as much as a full-fledged OctoGoatBox and you still don't have the CPU power, RAM and storage required to drive a full-fledged Web interface such as OctoPrint.
That's the kind of half-baked "solution" that I definitely would not recommend.